Gluten-free didn’t mean anything to me only because I knew nothing about it. Occasionally, I’d see a few food items that had that billing. My thought bubble was that it meant the food did not taste good.

I was so wrong. Not only can gluten-free or sugar-free food also taste great, the health benefits are unbelievable.

One day, someone walked into Wooden Spoon restaurant and handed me a box of gluten-free chocolate cupcakes to try. My expectations were not too high, admittedly. I took the cookies home and shared them with my daughter Danielle, who constantly dreams about and craves for cupcakes.

Out of the box of six, I was able to try only one. But when I tried it, I understood why Danielle loves a delicious cupcake. The piece I had was soft, moist, chocolate-y and just simple yummy. Not too long after that, I was calling the baker, Mandi. I was so excited to find this discovery.

Turned out I was also in for a lesson on gluten. The lesson was a bit complicated, but what I remembered was to stay away from wheat. That means bread, rye, whole-wheat crackers which I have almost every day with my corned tuna omelet, donuts, anything dairy, etc.

I also remember a naturopath doctor telling me to stay away from alcohol, sugar, liquor, anything that has yeast, etc.

Whenever I am not food-tasting, I follow a strict diet of adobong kangkong and fish curry. “But the gata is not good for you,” said the doctor, because it retained water.

With too much to remember, I just stuck to what I should stay away from—bread (which I love), gata and any milk product such as cheese, and also Magnum ice cream and Dairy Queen. Hay buhay!

I had always wondered why I wasn’t losing weight despite my exercise and diet. I was bloated. So I took those items off my daily diet and, in two days, that bloat subsided and I felt a lot better. Most days, after waking up in the morning I would feel sleepy soon after. When I took these foods off my diet, all the symptoms disappeared. Huge difference.

Another cupcake maker, Roy, also makes gluten-free cakes. I love them, too. They’re like flourless chocolate cakes. I love the icing. Knowing that they taste great without having to worry about the presence of gluten makes the cakes even more appealing. Roy said these goodies are best eaten at room temperature.

For Danielle, it has become a toss-up between the cupcakes and the gluten-free cakes. These goodies must be checked out!

Happy eating!

Call Mandi’s Cupcakes at 0917-8114443; Roy’s Gluten-free Cakes and Cupcakes at 0920-9604161.

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